


Alphabet of Moried

by Funfactskiddos1705



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:15:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29282082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Funfactskiddos1705/pseuds/Funfactskiddos1705
Summary: Stories that coincide with one another through out Spencer and Derek’s relationship.
Relationships: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Kudos: 21





	1. A is For Astrology

Astrology- Astrology is a pseudoscience that claims to divine information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects.

No matter what anyone might say, because let's be honest, they are lying, first dates are harder than shit to plan. Let's not even start with how to dress, formal, casual? Do you met at a bar, or does that give off the wrong vibe? Someone's house, no, no, if you don't know them previously, that gives of serial killer vibes. A walk in the park or picnic , of course, that would only work half of the year, the other half it would be extremely cold. You could always go the route of a theater, but then again, popcorn prices are outrages, and you risk seeing a movie that one or both don't enjoy, and you don't get much talking in. 

Of course, these thoughts echoed, anxieties and insecurities working their magic. Well that is if magic caused your hands to sweat profusely, not being able to concentrate on something longer than five consecutive seconds. 

No, this wasn't like Derek Morgan. The A game all star of a flirt, the Greek god Adonis in mortal form constantly hitting on women, attracting a crowd no matter where he went, grinding up on random women, one night stand to be in control of his trauma , forget their name and never call them back Derek Morgan. No, this was Derek Morgan, sneaking glances across the briefing room at his best friend, lingering touches, small smirks, Pretty Boy, play fights and banter , shared rooms when things got too packed and finally admitting harbored feelings last week. 

This was a constant state of worry, sure, he had known Spencer Reid for upmost of 5 years, they were best friends, but he still wanted make the first date was the best that the younger man had ever been on. Knowing his past, it would kill him if he didn't. He knew Spencer had a rough time growing up, being a child prodigy in the Las Vegas public school system, constantly being bullied, he didn't form relationships well, or even trust well for that matter. So when he found out that Reid had been, for lack of better words, sexually assaulted, his blood boiled. Hearing the words come from the young man's mouth, the look in his doe eyes, the hurt and the suffering, it made him want to kill whoever did that to him, who blindfolded him, who left the note, who stripped him of his clothing and tied him to the goalpost for all to witness him nude. 

Derek had his own phantom menaces that haunted him from his childhood, the taste of cheap box wine, the dizzying drunken high he felt when the room began to spin and he was forced face first onto the bed, the feeling of calloused hands running up and down his abdomen, just until they reached their intended target. Spencer of course understood, and never pried, he knew not to. Just like Derek knew that Spencer was afraid of the dark, or people touching him, or loud noises, they just knew. Nothing had to be said, nothing ever did, it was the bliss of their friendship, and what Derek thinks, might have made him fall so hard for the younger man. Yeah, he will admit that when he first walked into Gideon's office, and passed the younger man, he was taken aback at how young he was, but damn was he beautiful, and he learned quite quickly how incredibly intelligent he was. 

This is what made everything even more hard, he didn't want to disappoint, he didn't want to fail. He wanted to bring a smile to those pretty pink, kiss me, lips that the doctor had. He wanted to see the joy light up his eyes and hear him laugh. This is what had been keeping him up for a week, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, because when he closed his eyes, he saw failed date after failed date. Now, don't get me wrong, he knew that the lovable doctor would be understanding and compassionate, but it wasn't really that he was worried about. This was his best friend, and he wanted to woo him, make him know that he loved him, which he did, and listened. 

This brought up a variety of options and ideas that were automatically off the table. Option 1 had been to take Spencer to this new 5 star restaurant that just opened a couple months ago. He knew that Spencer loved trying new food, hell, he was even courageous enough to eat his cooking, but with it being new, and the hustle and bustle of D.C on a Saturday night, Derek decided against it. Sure, he would die to see Reid dressed to the t, a form fitting suit, elegant white dress shirt and colored tie, the whole nine-yards, but he also knew that people would be loud in a newer restaurant, and that Spencer didn't take loud well. 

That brought him to option 2, which was a little less, excitant et ravissant. He could bring over Chinese take out, stopping on his way, getting extra rice, just the way Spencer liked, and get flowers of some kind, but then again, in all of the years that he's known him, Spencer never told him his favorite flower, or even if he liked flowers. Sure this was the safe route, they had a movie night, bi-weekly changing the house that was holding said night. They would either order take out, or the person who wasn't holding would pick it up on the way. This just seemed too normal to him, this seemed just like something they would do, instead of a date, and he didn't want Spencer to not feel special, but he also wanted him to feel relaxed. 

This is what made him stay up on Friday night, tossing and turning, less than 24 hours before their date, well to be exact it was more like 15. He could cancel, do to lack of sleep, but he wouldn't, this meant more to him then a couple of hours. He was scrolling through his phone, restless, he was either too hot, his blanket causing him to sweat as he kicked it off, sweat lining his abs as he slept only in a pair of worn out sweatpants, or too cold, the cold air would hit him after a while and he would begin to chill, huffing about the circumstances, he just fussed, and put on a shirt. 

Spencer had mentioned something about a month ago about this Planetariums opening up, or so he thought he had heard over their lunch, he didn't even know, he was too busy, making sure that he was eating. This was the first time all case that he had seen the doctor eat, which was terrifying since this was the third day that they had been there and they were sharing a room. The young doctor had taken him to a local café, just for a quick bite in-between JJ's press conference and the word from the M.E. about the latest victim. 

With this, Derek began to look into this said planetarium, hoping to be able to take Spencer. He knew that the kid had been obsessed with astrology since he was nine, and constantly spoke on the topic. If he had to go through some kind of space museum, that he wouldn't even be paying attention to let's be honest here, he would be more focused on Spencer, he didn't care he just wanted to him to be happy. Though, all shots of happiness were shot out the window, when he clicked on the planetariums website. Ptolemy Planetarium: Opening August 

Derek let out a sigh and cursed, throwing his head back on the pillow. There went that idea, now he had no idea what to do that could even amount to that. The stupid planetarium wouldn't be open for another month, and he really did think about sneaking Spencer in, but what would the use be if it wasn't completed. The things that he would do for him was ridiculous. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be fair, if there was a divine being, they were watching over the team that day, being this was their first weekend off in several months, but all bliss ended when Clooney had jumped onto Derek's king sized bed and began to beg, at eight o'clock, not even giving him five hours of sleep. 

"Fine, fine bud. Fine I said!" Derek groaned, running a hand down his face and grabbing his phone, checking the time. He noticed that he had two missed calls from his mom and a voice mail, two voicemails from Penelope, and about a dozen odd texts from Spencer. It wasn't even noon what could he have missed? 

He, most literally, fell out of bed, onto the hard wood floor. Clooney jumped down, wagging his tail, licking his owners face. "Haha, funny boy," Derek spat, raising up, his body sore from how he slept. 

He made his way to let Clooney out before even attempting to open his phone, to even acknowledge whatever he missed while knocked out. He of course, being Derek Morgan, checked his mother's voice mail first, thinking that whatever Spencer had sent was just routine. He was an early riser, and a night owl, come to think of it, when did the boy sleep? He was probably just excited about the date tonight. 

He clicked up the his voicemail, clicking on his mothers, before slumping on the couch. His phone outstretched as he played the message from 6:56. "It's the big day!" His mother's cheerful voice filled the air, noticeably he smiled, missing the sound of her voice. "I just wanted to wish you luck, and tell you to be a gentleman. I know how you get, Derek! You be sweet to that young doctor! He's a keeper, and he's cute! Also, I wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you. I'm glad that you found someone. Alright, I love you, call me after the date to tell me how it goes baby boy! Tell him I say hi and that mama loves him to!" The phone clicked. He loved how his mom loved Spencer like he was her own flesh and blood, even though they almost never saw her, she was so excited about them. She was the one who told him that he might have a little more than "friendly" feelings.

He then went to the first of Penelope's voice mails, which was from 7:45. "Well, well, well, my Chocolate Adonis, looks like someone's getting their beauty sleep, which we both know you don't need. I mean have you seen you," She growled into the phone, making the older man chuckle, his head falling back as he rolled his eyes. "anyway, I didn't just call to flirt, although, just imagine. You, me, ah, in another life sweetie, in another life. I wanted to wish you and Boy Genius good luck on your date tonight! Why didn't you tell me you asked him out?" Derek's eyes widened, he didn't want anyone to know because Spencer didn't like everyone knowing his personal life. "Although I am a little upset that I had to hear from Kevin, I am still glad that my two favorite men have finally decided to call it quits with all that yucky sexual tension and finally put it to good use," She began to moan and make sex noises, but Derek heard none of it. He was too busy trying to figure out how, just who, found out that Derek had asked Spencer out, and then told? The memo clicked and his immediately clicked the next one, which wasn't even 10 minutes later. 

"Okay, okay, Derek," Derek, hearing his first name from her gave him chills, this meant that she was no longer fucking around and something was seriously wrong. "Spencer is on my other phone right now, " fuck, yeah, he forgot that she had like 13 different phones, "he's having a panic attack and wants to know if your still on for tonight. I got him to stop hyperventilating, but he is still pretty freaking that someone was watching you two, and that he doesn't know who it is, and he doesn't think you do either. Please call me when you get this." 

He went through his contacts to find her name, calling her. Multitasking, was never a good skill of his, but right now it was essential. He put the phone on speaker, for whenever she decided to answer him, it felt like forever, as he began to read through Spencer's texts, his stomach churning and heart sinking. 

Pretty Boy: Good morning, I know it's early, but I just wanted to let you know that I am excited for tonight and cannot wait to see what you have planned, or to be frank, see you. I hope I didn't wake you. Please sleep well! 

Derek chuckled, Spencer was the only person he knew who used correct grammar and full sentences when texting. 

Pretty Boy: I'm heading to get a cup of coffee, do you want one? It's just around the block from you and it would be the perfect excuse to come and see that beautiful smile of yours, especially this early in the morning. The sun needs something to over shadow it. Please don't tell anyone how sappy that sounded. 

I'm guessing that you're still not up, sleeping beauty, I guess. Did you know that in the original Grimes Brother tale, Sleeping Beauty was raped and impregnated. I'm going to stop by the book store before tonight, I heard that they had got a new shipment in and you know I can't resist. Maybe we can meet for lunch if you want. 

Garcia called me, did you tell her about us? I'm fine if you did, she's your best friend. I mean, she's really our best friend, we should have told her. 

Derek... someone saw us... it's all around the office. They ALL know. 

Do you still want to go out?

I understand if you don't. 

I understand if you don't want to see me. 

Derek's heart stung at the last three texts. Why wouldn't he want to go out with is angel? His Heaven on Earth? He let out a long, held in sigh that he didn't realize that he was holding, as the phone connected. 

"Hey, is he-" Derek began, but was quickly cut off from Penelope, she sounded rushed, but he knew that her tone was just her being worried. 

"Yes, he's on the other end. He is upset, he wants to know if your upset at him. Yes honey, he's finally up, yes, I'll ask him." There was a moment of silence again, as the air stilled in Derek's house, the only sound was breathing. "He wants to know if its okay if we cut out the middle man, hey, hey, to be fair, one I am not a middle, I am a bottom, and I am not a man! And he drives out to see you so you can talk one on one about everything that seemed to happen in the past couple hours." 

" Yeah, he's always welcome over here, and baby girl?" He waited for her to acknowledge him on the other side of the phone, "tell him that I'm not upset with him at all, and I never could be. And thank you so much mamas, I owe you a thousand." 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of course, Derek heard Spencer before he saw him. When he first had arrived he didn’t know how to drive, leading countless hours of Hotch trying to teach him. His old beat up Volkswagen Beetle, that looked strangely like Ted Bundy's, that sputtered, and could be heard a block or two away, really, it was a wonder if that vehicle was road safe. No matter how many times that damned car broke down, and it constantly was, or how many times he was forced to take the subway to work, Mr. I Have A PhD In Engineering I Can Fix It, never let Derek touch it. 

Spencer parked as usual, next in the space provided, and before getting out, Derek could see from the window, that Spencer had hit the steering wheel hard, cursing and screaming. His face was bright red, he had sunglasses on, and ran a sweater palm over his high cheekbone. Derek prayed that he wasn't going through another migraine that he didn't tell anyone about, but knowing the younger man, he probably was. He collected his satchel, and slammed the door, jumping slightly at the sound. 

Clooney came bolting from the back yard, hearing the door slam, he knew that there had to be his favorite guest, who am I kidding, Spencer was Clooney's second owner. He would always sneak him table scraps, cuddle up with him and just give him love. Derek found it extremely adorable how close they were, yet odd how Clooney was one of the only dogs that seemed to stand Spencer, but he never dare question it. Spencer on instinct, bent down, and began to ruffle Clooney big ears on his big head. Clooney was after all a Pitbull mix that Derek had got at a shelter and instantly fallen in love with. Just like Derek , Clooney had a couple scars, but he was always smiling. 

"Shh, don't tell your dad, but," Spencer reached into his bag, riffling through books and case files to find what he was looking for. Derek could plain as day see a freshly butcher lamb bone being placed in front of his very spoiled dog. "There you go. Good boy!" Spencer cooed, still petting Clooney and giving him small kisses. The dog was content with both, but seemed to pay more attention to the affection whining when Spencer stood up. 

"That motherfucker, that's why Clooney likes him so much. I knew it!" Derek chuckled, as he watched the lanky man run his fingers through his hair, looking around, adjusting his satchel and walking up to the door, Clooney in tow. 

He never knocked, or truly, he never has to, Derek already had the door opened by the time he made it to the step that led from the side walk to the front for, leaning against the frame, arms crossed against his chest. It was only then that he realized how blotched Spencer's face was, hidden by those dammed sunglasses. 

"You've been watching me, creep," Spencer rolled his eyes, smiling. Well of course, Derek would have seen that he was rolling them if he didn't have those sunglasses on. He leaned into the older, broader man, and rested his head onto his shoulder, like they've done countless times, even though this would be their first official date. 

"You are quite a beautiful show. I know your dirty little secret know, trying to buy my dogs love," Derek's laugh sounded like music to his ears, "Now lets get you inside. I know you want to talk, Pretty Boy," Spencer was lead into the house, being here several times before he knew the layout, and took his glasses off once inside. 

"I'm just guessing," Derek began, leaning against the wall, his arms outstretched in a nonverbal form of asking Spencer if he wanted to be held. To be honest, he had been holding Spencer for years contrary to popular belief, since Spence hated to be touch by most, but he never flinched or backed away with Derek. Somewhere, even before trust was earned, trust was there. Almost as if their atoms just knew that they were meant for each other. Spencer started to make his way to the man that always seemed to know what to do. "you gave yourself a migraine worrying. Didn't you? You know we can always have a raincheck if you don-" 

Spencer stopped dead in his tracks, shaking his head profusely. "No, no, that's not what I want. Please," his voice cracked and it broke Derek's heart to hear how desperate he sounded. He saw tears well up in the youngers eyes, as he looked down, his hands shaking. "Please...don't do this." 

"Spencer," Spencer, the used of first name made him shiver, made him know that whatever was coming was serious and he braced himself for the worst. He shut his eyes and bit his cheek, curling his toes into his worn out converse. Speaking of which, he needed to buy a new pair. " what do you think I'm going to do? Baby, it's me. I'm going to be by your side forever remember, no matter what. I'm harder than shit to get rid of it, it's been like what? 5 years?" 

"Don't," Spencer squeaked, digging his nailed into his hand. He felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders. If it was anyone else, it would have only made his panic worse, but something about Derek produced endorphins, it made him feel safe. It made him feel at home, those arms were home to him. The home that he never had. He was shoved into a bear hug, every breath he took, he could smell it. The mixture of sandalwood, gunpower and grease, it was a mixture purely Derek. It was the smell of home. "Don't promise things that you can't keep." 

You're abandonment issues are showing, the inner voice in head that reminded him of his insecurities hissed. His logical mind knew that this was just anxiety, he was terrified to lose Derek, but love isn't logical, and he loved him. 

"I'll make you a promise I can keep then okay?" Derek, who was slightly shorter, hummed into Spencer's ear. He shook his head in agreement, feeling the Derek's scruff rub up against his cheek. "I promise that I won't leave from things that I can control okay? I promise to stay as long as I physically can." He kissed Spencer's ear softly, as spencer raised a hand. 

"I promise to." He muttered his pinkie outstretched. Derek gave him a quizzical face. staring first at the finger and then to his boyfriend. 

"What are you doing?" Derek laughed, confusion clouding his eyes. In hindsight, Derek was eight years older then him, but a pinky promise was a pinky promise. 

"It's a pinky promise, Derek. It's a legitimate form of sealing a promise." Spencer spoke without missing a beat. 

"Are we really doing this?"

Spencer looked up for a second, considering it, and then without a second thought nodded. "Why, are you scared to break it? If you break it, not only will I break you, but I will also cut off your pinkie." 

Derek had never seen Spencer, his small innocent baby make a threat like that, but honestly it was a turn on, and kind of scary. He linked his finger and Spencer kissed his cheek. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun had finally set over the horizon, as the couple drove into the abyss. Spencer had no idea where Derek had planned to take him, and to be honest, if he didn't know the man, he would have thought it would have been to kill him. 

They had driven at least an hour away from the city, and there were no lights to be seen except the headlights of Derek's truck, and the moon. Oddly for around 8:30, there where no cars on the road. The road was a two way highway that was beginning to become winding. Spencer had never been this far out of the city before, well at least in this direction, and he honestly had no idea what Derek was getting them into. 

They had eaten dinner before they left, like per usual, they called the Golden Dragon, and ordered take out. He had ate Derek's cooking once, and he had food poisoning for a week after, it was a miracle that man was still alive. Spencer had picked it up and in those 15 minutes, Derek could have did anything. Well not anything, but a far amount to cause mischief. 

Before Spencer knew it, they were parker on the shoulder of the road. Derek grabbed his hand and squeezed it, turning to look at him and smile. "You ready for our date?" He smirked, running his free hand across Spencer's cheek. 

"Only if you don't kill me," Spencer teased, rolling his eyes and stepping out of the lifted truck. He hated that thing, how high it was. It was bad enough that was was uncoordinated, but he had to jump from it. He was going to end up springing his ankle one day from it.

"I have to grab something from the back, wait for me okay?"

Derek grabbed something that looked similar to a picnic basket, but that wouldn't have made sense, since they had already ate. Spencer cursed himself for wearing his contacts which were an old prescription and not his glasses which he usually wore on days off. He made his way back around to the front of the car and took the doctors hand in his own, walking along the side of the road, the moon lighting their way. 

"So, up here is where it is." Derek stopped, rocking back and forth on the ball of his feet, "But before we get there I wasn't to tell you I haven't didn't this since I did this since... and I wanted to do something special with you and I wanted you to know that." He let out a breath, sighing deep as his eyes met the doe eyed man. His honey eyes were captivating and they matched well with the chocolate ones that Derek had. 

"Derek you didn't have to," Derek shook his head putting a finger to his mouth. 

"You don't understand, but I do. You need to know how much I love you Pretty Boy, and I'm willing to show you." He smiled as the younger man embraced him. Working his arms around to the small of his back, this was home. 

"I love you too Derek, you know that," 

"Alright enough sappy, sad, shit, kid. I took you here for a reason. You best watch your step. Don't wanna take you to the hospital tonight." They both chuckled, knowing that the warning was just going to go out the window with the way that Spencer's lanky body was. They walked hand in hand to their destination, which was only a couple feet away. 

It was a cliff over looking a valley, which was beautifully filled with greenery, flowers in blossom, but they were there for a different view. They were so far away from the city that light pollution didn't bother the night sky, and the stars shown in their truest form. Bright and beautiful in contrast to their back drop. There was no trees in the valley, so they could look on and on without being interrupted by anything beside thought. It was gorgeous. 

"Derek, I-" Spencer stammered, staring opened mouthed at the sky. His head at a uncomfortable position, staring upwards. His eyes reflecting the stars, and Derek found that more beautiful then the actual sky. His smile plastered on his face as his eyes scanned the sky, the wheels in his head turning as he worked the constellations, no doubt a million facts filling his mind. 

"Well I was going to take you to that planetarium, but of course it isn't open yet. I stayed up almost all night wondering what could make up for it, and then it hit me. Why not take you to see the real thing, Pretty Boy. You deserve it." He laid the blanket that he was carrying in the basket onto the grassy over look. Yeah, they could have sat on the grass, but knowing the two of them, they would be there for a while, a knowing that they didn't have work, he brought a blanket just incase. He also dropped Clooney off with his neighbor who always dog sat and never seemed to mind the bull in a china shop that was that dog. 

He pulled the taller man down, letting his head rest in his lap as he stared up pointing at the sky. "You see that?" He pointed to some far off constellation. "Its the Corona Borealis. It is said to be based off of the minotaur, half human, half bull, that terrorized the labyrinth. Oh! And that Ophiuchus and the Serpents. Ophiuchus was known to help Apollo which angered Zeus, so, Zeus placed him in the stars. Ophiuchus became widely known as the serpent because of it." Spencer carried on like this with ever constellation he saw. Derek poured himself a glass of wine, he hadn't drank wine in years because of... and he thought that he would treat himself to it since they were the only ones here. They were safe. He was safe listening to his doctor ramble, and his doctor was safe in his arms. 

"Is this wine?" Spencer, in the middle of his ramble asked, as Derek set his red-solo cup down on the grass looking at the man in his lap. 

"Uh, yeah. Do you want some? I brought an extra cup incase. I know you usually don't drink unless it's around me." Ruffling the kids hair, he planted a kiss on his forehead, but to his surprise, Spencer grabbed his face and kissed him quickly, smiling against his lips. 

No, it wasn't their first kiss, but he usually wouldn't kiss him with alcohol on his breath. "I'm proud of you, Derek, and yeah I'll take one." He smiled, humming to himself. 

They spent most of the night like this, sipping wine from red-solo cups and joking around. Kissing and play fighting, watching the stars together until they bother got so tired that they couldn't bare to keep their eyes open and they fell asleep there, on the blanket. They woke up to the sunrise, which was also beautiful, but not quite wanted when your half awake and this blinding light comes to ruin the mood. 

They were tangled up in each other. Derek was holding Spencer close to his chest, whos arms were around Derek's waist. Derek's head rested on top on Spencer's mop of hair. 

"I love you," Derek groaned, waking up. 

"'m love you too," Spencer hummed, rolling over and kissing Derek's cheek smiling.


	2. B is for Bullets and Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I would rate this M (WARNING) extreme violence and talks of sex/rape

Bullets - a metal projectile for firing from a rifle, revolver, or other small firearm, typically cylindrical and pointed, and sometimes containing an explosive.

Books- a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.

It happened too fast. Truth be told, it was way too fast, so fast that people couldn't comprehend what was happening before it was too late, and couldn't react. The sound whizzed through the air, buzzing with such intensity, that it seemed like the world stopped or at least slowed down even just for a moment, then again, when the world does that it needs to speed up again to regain time, so what happened next didn't surprise anyone. It was silent, eerily, until it hit flesh, caving into the cavity between the shoulder and neck, exposed from the vest.

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves now, this is not how our story begins though, not by a long shot, no pun intended. No, no, it all started about two weeks back. Well, to be precise, and precision is key, it was two weeks, 1 day, 17 hours and 5 minutes, but who's keeping track?

The alarm clock, that sat on the nightstand catty corner to the bed, if you could even call the cot that laid on the broken bed frame, in the middle of the natural toned room. A sigh came from somewhere under the covers, they shifted, ever so slightly, and a hand, then ,of course followed by, an arm found its way out of the white cotton sheets. The beeping stopped, and the body in the bed huffed, inch by inch face first deeper into the pillow, until their bladder failed them. 

They hauled their body, as if it was a burlap sack filled with potatoes, to the side of the bed, bare feet hitting the wooden floor. They pulled, shakily, a pair of glasses onto their face. A chill ran through their body, but it was shortly lived by the persistent urge to use the restroom. Walking, half alive, with their right hand palming at their eye, and the other itching at ribs that long since lost ability to ache from work. Wood turned into tile as the lights lit up the small bathroom. They pasted their reflection in the mirror, sighing at just how dreadful they looked. 

Just as they began to pull back on their pants, heading to the kitchen to start the slightly abused coffee maker as the shower began to start, the phone began buzzing, ringing at a stupidly high pitched noise for something so early. They grumbled, only managing to get the grounds into the filter, Kregiug's didn't work because of how much was gone through, fruitfully making their way back into the bedroom. 

The phone was vibrating comically on the nightstand, where they seemed to keep everything. A photo of a tall, dark, handsome man was to be found on it. That 1000 watt smile bringing a sleepy grin to the others lips as they answered. 

"I haven't even had my cup of coffee yet, so this best be important honey." They slurred, their voice strained from sleep but still evident through the phone of the affection in the voice. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever pretty boy, go get your cup of coffee. You'll probably only be able to get one in anyway," The voice on the other end of the phone cooed out, smooth like honey. "Hotch told me to call you since I guess I'm the only person who can talk to you this early. Who knows I guess, babe. But whatever, we just got a case and he wants us in the conference room in 50 minutes." 

Spencer moaned, verbally annoyed about going into a case on their off day. Serial killers really didn't take a day off. 

"Don't get fussy with me! If I had my way I would be curled up with you like we had planned, but duty calls. " Spencer rolled his eyes, as if the recipient could see. 

"I'm going to go take a shower, can you please, I'm begging, and you know how much I hate that-" 

"That's not what I remember from, when was it, Thursday night. That hotel room will never be the same. The way you looked with my hands in your-" 

"Morgan! I was going to ask you to bring me coffee, but if you're going to act like an adolescent, I'll just call Jayje." His face was flushed as he began to take off the oversized Cal-Tech t-shirt, blush spreading down his chest. His hands worked their way to the faucet as he turned on the warm water and sat on the adjacent bathtub. Little did anyone but Derek know that Spencer liked to sit down sometimes and just let the water wash over him.

"Shh, don't get your panties all tied up, speaking of which, you should, nevermind. I'll get you your sugar and coffee, no need to call J. I'm heading to come pick you up anyway, the weathers terrible and I don't want you taking the subway. I know your cars, well when is it ever, but it's not working again. Just let me look at it." 

"You don't have to pick me up," Spencer said, walking into the shower, setting his phone on speaker and placing it on the side of the bathtub, as he closed the curtain. "A little rain won't hurt me. Did you know that very small raindrops can take as long as seven minutes to reach the ground; while larger droplets can fall at speeds of 20mph." Spencer sat down in the tub, sighing as the hot water hit his chest. The phone was next to him outside of the current so Derek could still hear him clearly, they were always supper close, doing this even when they weren't officially together. 

"Funny of you to assume it's raining. Actually, it's hailing, but if you still want to walk to the metro station with hail the size of golf balls, I might have to get your psych exam reevaluated. You know in a million years that I wouldn't-" 

"Okay, okay, dad. "The sass just came naturally as he raised, slipping a little, as he rested his head under the faucet. His long locks sticking to skin, making him feel like a drenched rat, as he reached for the shampoo and lathered it into his hair. 

He much rather it was Derek but, circumstances right now wouldn't allow it. Derek had insisted on touching the younger man's hair since he can remember, and he has an eidetic memory, so during a rather grueling case he didn't even bat an eye when Derek had asked to wash his hair for him. Relaxing into the touch, he had ended up falling asleep as Derek washed the product out of his hair. 

"Oh, I knew you had a daddy kink after you called me that last week! You best be thinking about me in that shower. " Derek snickered on the other end of the phone. 

"Derek Hank Morgan, if you don't stop that!" Spencer hissed, teasingly as he washed the remaining shampoo out of his hair, letting the water fall onto his back as he grabbed the conditioner. 

"Alright, alright, I'm walking out my door and unless you want me to put you on speaker on that weird phone grabby thing that Garcia bought me, I'll let you go and see you when I get there." 

"I'll see you then. I love you." 

"I love you too sweetness." The phone clicked, going silent with the receiver losing it's reciptant. Spencer let the water wash over him again, shakily letting his hands run through them. His mind wandering to Derek, the way that his voice could always change his mood. 

Before he knew it, the water was beginning to get cold. His internal clock told him that he had been in there for around 30 minutes, but he really didn't seem to mind the pruned fingers. He stepped out of the bathroom, wrapping the towel around his waist, hair dripping onto his shoulders and back. Stopping at the mirror, Spencer grabbed the contact container and began to put them in. To be honest, he much preferred his glasses, wearing them since infancy, but work wouldn't allow it.

He made his way into his bedroom, working through the various combinations of sweater vests and dress shirts in his closet, standing in only a white undershirt and boxers, one foot socked with pink, the other green, the towel being wrapped around his head. He hated to be wet, after the fact of, taking a shower, which is why he had been thinking of cutting his hair again, but he didn't know if he quite wanted to yet. 

He was tempted to wear a black dress shirt with a tan sweater vest, accompanied by a pair of black dress pants and starry night tie, but he found that rather bleak. Instead he switched the dress shirt to another, much more tasteful, salmon one. He began to get dressed, he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, cursing under his breath. 

Giving Derek a key was a blessing and a curse, yes, of course if something needed to get done, Derek could enter without kicking the door in and causing him hundreds of dollars to his landlord, but of course, there were also faults, like this time. Derek walked right as Spencer got stuck in his sweater vest, fumbling to gain control and eventually losing to the vest, falling onto a stack of books. 

"Ow..." The younger man whined, his head, as far as one could tell with it being stuck in the sweater vest, was pushed back in defeat. 

"Let me help you, darling. It amazes me that you are so smart, yet end up in these situations." Teased the older man, putting the cup of coffee down on the island and making his way over to his boyfriend. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They made their way to Derek's truck after successfully getting Spencer unstuck from the sweater vest. Derek had not lied about the size of the hail either, it just came down harder and harder, causing damage to anything and everything. 

The trip to the office wasn't long, but the constant sound of the hail hitting the roof causing the younger man to wince every time didn't make the trip any less trivial. Derek just took it as an opportunity to comfort his forlorn lover, putting his palm on the man's thigh to calm his ever persistent nerves, leg bouncing with some beat that was long forgotten to the older man. 

When they finally arrived at the parking garage, the hail was still ever persistent, Spencer grabbed his go-bag and satchel, making his way to the elevator before even turning around to see his significant other who followed suit. The hallways, as usual, are shown with iridescent LED lights, the way to the bullpen. They walked through the desks, mostly occupied by desk jockeys, made their way to the conference room. 

JJ was already in there, talking to Emily about something, as Emily sat perched on the table. Rossi still hadn't shown to the office, but nobody expected him to be early. Penelope was still in her lair, working on finalizing the last details of the case before sending them out to their tablets and printing one for Spencer. Hotch was in a conference with some big wig from HR, no doubt about Derek and Penelope's not so subtle flirts, but he would just roll it off as another write up from Kevin. 

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"Welcome one, welcome all, your queen has arrived!" Penelope sang, rushing in with a armful of tablets and one paper copy. Her golden stilettos clicked as she traced around the table, handing out information. 

"Now, you all don't have to clap all at once, but it would be nice," She joked, turning the screen on, flashing a smile, her grey and blue dress swaying in the wind, "Alright boys, girls, Italians, we have nasty one today. Jaxon Daniels, 29, was found two weeks ago in an abandoned warehouse that locals say was supposed to be destroyed in the following days but has now been postpended. He was last seen leaving a local grocery store. He was shot several times and wrapped in saran wrap. Workers found him and reported the murder. There were signs of physical struggle." She clicked a button on the remote, changing the image from a young Arian man, to a short Asian woman. 

"Well we can rule out gender and race," Rossi commended, taking a swig of coffee from his cup. 

"Laura Reynolds, 16, was found last week in a dumpster outside of a family restaurant. Just like Kevin Daniels, she was shot and wrapped, but it was several days until she was found due to the restaurant staff being on leave for family vacation. She though, was last seen at her apartment complex by her neighbor." 

She clicked the button again and another, and the last photo appeared, a younger looking Latina, with long turquoise box braids. Her eyes sparkled from her spot in the flash, she was wearing a skintight pantsuit, her hands filled with notebooks. 

"This was Luciana Hernan,50, she was last seen lecturing a group of students at the art university of human interest-" 

"We're going to Florida?" Spencer groaned. Everyone hated Florida cases, they seemed, well it's Florida, everything was more intense in Florida. Which meant that he would most likely get hurt more, which was usually the case in Florida. 

"Didn't I say that? Oops, must have slipped my pretty little minds with ,you know, all these deaths, any who," She began again stating about how the body was again shot and wrapped, this time being dumped in a river. 

"Could it be occupational?" JJ suggested, looking up from her tablet and shooting Emily a toothy grin. 

"I'm working the details out through that, you see, Laura didn't have a job, she was too young." 

"Try her parents, maybe we're not looking at it the correct angle," Hotch suggested before standing and sighing, "Wheels up in thirty." 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The jet ride was only around an hour long, but that didn't settle any nerves that seemingly made their way up Spencer's throat, creating a ball in his stomach and bouncing around his chest. Everyone on the team had there certain "danger zones" and his just happened to be Florida. 

It didn't calm Spencer's nerves when they landed and were escorted to the local precinct, that they had not expected their arrival for another couple hours, so they were unprepared. They were still looking for evidence and stumbling through hoops. Which meant that Hotch had stayed behind as the rest of the team went to the, well to put lightly, shithole of a motel.

Budget cuts had been placed upon the Bureau, so they were sharing rooms, which didn't bother anyone, especially the happy couple who were quite appreciative of it. They knew that without the excuse, the would have no reason for either of them to be sneaking into the others room late at night. Even though the team knew they were together, hell they were soulmates, they still tried to play dumb for the sake of Strauss. 

The room looked like it came straight out of the 50s, down to the repulsive floral arrangement that looked like a gnome had regurgitated all over their blankets. The whole ordeal was already giving Spencer a headache as he sank down in the desk chair, spinning it subconsciously. He began to palm at his eyes again, listening to his lover walk around the room and set down their bags. 

"Tell me what's wrong, love. Is it anything I can fix?" Derek whispered, knelling in front of spencer and taking his hand in his own. When ever spencer became like this, Derek was also so gentle, so kind. He always treated him like a small, scared child, but it wasn't in a derogatory way, it was just how Derek was. He would do everything in his power to do anything to fix this problem, whatever it was. Kill, steal, barter, he would sell his soul if it meant seeing Spencer happy, and to be honest, he was a little frightened that this man had that much power over him, but he knew that Spencer would never ask anything of him, that's just how the genius was. 

"I just hate Florida," the younger sighed, letting the older wrap around him. 

"I know, I know you do honey. We all don't prefer Florida, this place gets crazy. We both have had our fair share with that. What's on your mind?" 

"It doesn't make sense. The ages are all over the place, and the races are everywhere. The dumping locations don't seem to have any significance but of course I can't conclude that until I do the geographical profile. Speaking of which, what kind of station calls us in and doesn't even have the information ready? Like yeah were all human, but shit. " The genius rambled on breathless, as their phones buzzed. 

"Well, your not going to like this. Hotch just texted and said that it was going to be another hour before we can do anything. They are missing vital information and we cannot proceed without whatever, bla bla bla." Derek read in his best Hotch impression making Spencer crack a grin, until realizing that they were sitting ducks. They were in this shitty motel, for another hour at least. 

"You know I wore those-" He needn't say anything else, or really he couldn't, as Derek's lips were already on his, soft. Hands working up and down bodies, it was a dance to them really. Derek usually took lead, but sometimes, Spencer felt confident. People always assumed that Spencer was this submissive virgin, but he had a dark past, which is why Derek and him got along so well. 

His father had molested the young man several times in his youth, taking advantage of his mother's mental state to make it seem like it was the boys fault. He would say that the boy was undeniably his to use since he had made him, and it would disgust Spencer, which is why he would always try to separate himself from his father as much as possible. When his mother found out, divorce was the only option, she couldn't believe what had happened to her baby. 

Riley Jenkins, the boy in his dreams, who had been raped and stabbed, and also circumstantially on his t-ball team that was coached by his father, lead him to believe that his father had killed the boy, and that he might have been next if his mother never stood up. It drove him wild, until he found the true culprit. 

In college, well more specially after his second Ph.D. when he was 17, and working on his third, he had met a rather interesting character of a man named Ethan. Sure, Spencer was bisexual, but he always seemed to attract men. Ethan was majoring in liberal studies, and every chance he got, would try and hit on the man that was at least 3 years younger than him, but taller. 

They ended up dating for around two years, which were some of the best and worst times in Spencer's life. He loved late night conversations, drinking coffee and discussing the rotation of the planets, but he hated how blood tasted on his lips, or even how much foundation costs at the local pharmacy across the street. He would wear sunglasses to cover up his bruised eyes, and after a while Ethan got better and better at hiding them. Spencer had found his out when he entered the academy. 

Now was different through, Derek never yelled, well at him at least, He was always kind and gentle, and it was frightening to the boy at first. What did he do to deserve this? Was this a joke? A sick dream and he'll wake up and be back up on that goal post? He didn't have to worry about Derek's mood swings or if Derek was going to take his anger out on him, and he knew that Derek loved him, even if they didn't say it, they didn't need to. They had something deeper than he had ever experienced, something deeper than he could describe. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next week passed like molasses in winter. Nothing new had been discovered which was odd since they scoured the crime scenes and there was nothing. No cameras, no witnesses, no finger prints, no blood splatter. It was just too clean. 

The team was beginning to think about packing up, seeing as there was no knew leads, and nothing to link the victims. Garcia had looked up occupational records for the victims and in the case of Laura, her parents, everything was a dead trail. She looked up colleges that each attended, credit card information, anything and it came back as zero. 

Spencer's geographical profile was the same. The areas had no precise meaning as of yet, and he didn't want to admit it, but he would need another victim to even be conclusive about anything. He was high on caffeine, buzzed, and just not a pleasure to be around. He was snapping at everyone. 

The LEOs was also extremely rude questioning Spencer on his ability to be on the team due to his age. Which caused even more irritability. Derek had to bite his tongue a couple of times in the break room listening to the officers talk about how skinny and how feminine he looks and how the woman on the team look to have bigger cocks than him. Oh if they only knew, he rolled his eyes sipping his cup of coffee, leaning against the island, his legs crossed. 

"God, look at that fag working as a desk jockey," That's all it took for Derek's stance to tense up by ten percent. He straightened up, crushing the Styrofoam up in his hand, not bothered by the sourcing hot liquid now burning his hand. 

"What the fuck did you just call him?" Derek snarled, apparently the officer's hadn't noticed the other man, too wrapped up in their shit talking. Their eyes widened, as the man began to make him way over there. 

"Did I fucking stutter," his eyes glanced down to the name tag on the uniform, "Goldoni?" 

"What's it to you? He your bitch or something?" Goldoni smirked, a boost of self destructive confidence washed over him. Spencer was right, fuck Florida. 

Derek grabbed the man by the collar of his uniform and lifted him up, with one hand, the other coming to punch him. "You ever talk about Dr. Reid like that again and I will make sure that I leave you with more than just a broken nose." Derek warned, dropping the man who was clutching his bleeding nose. 

Derek didn't notice that Spencer had entered the room right as the man was being let down, "I- uh, is everything okay in here?" Spencer asked looking at the shocked looks in the LEOs eyes as they looked at him, then to Derek, and then to the man clutching his nose. "What did you do?" Spencer scolded. "I left you alone for five minutes so you could get coffee, and you do what?" 

Derek rolled his eyes, laughing because Spencer always sounded like a pissed off wife when he was mad, "It's okay. Don't worry, he had it coming. Now come on. JJ and Emily should be back with something from that local Thai place." He placed a hand on the small of Spencer's back and walked him out of the door, but not without turning around and eyeing up Goldoni. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night they were called around two o'clock, after they had finally settled into the motel. Derek and Spencer had just gotten out of the shower, getting into their pajamas, hoping to at least sleep four hours before getting a call to get in. 

Another body had been found right outside of the gym, his body shot, like the last three, and wrapped. This time the victim had been an African American male, non identified as of yet, the local M.E. was still working on that. He was at least 6 feet tall, if not taller, but a chill went down Spencer's spine when he realized just how much the man looked like Derek. 

There was again no connect to any victims, no evidence left at the crime scene, the only thing that was odd was the fact that the man resembled Derek in a fashion. Spencer desperately wanted to pull Derek aside and talk to him about it, but before he could, Hotch was already assigning locations, since he was on call with Penelope, he wanted Rossi and Spencer to go to the M.E. and wait for some sort of identification, while Derek and Emily talk to the gym night staff to see if they saw anything. Hotch and JJ would be back at the station if anyone needed anything.

The man was Jaron Brixton, 45. His wife had identified the body, when he didn't return home from his usual late night work out at the local gym, she began to get worried and called around. He left behind a daughter and a son, that would dearly miss him, and it all hit Spencer way to hard, remembering that Derek's father was shot when he was younger. 

He needed some fresh air, so he walked outside, leaning against the limestone bricks of the corners building. His head rested upwards as he looked at the stars, it seemed like forever ago since they had been home, since he had been in his own bed and was actually not chasing after some ruthless murder. He yawning, exhausted, running his hand down his face. He knew that wherever Derek was at the moment, though they might not be holding each other, they could look at the night sky and be seeing the same thing.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next couple of days went just like first week. There was no change in progression, there were no leads, and Spencer would be damned if he let Morgan and Goldoni in the same room together. He didn't know what happen that day, but he knew that there was some serious tension, and no matter what, they were always egging the other on about something. Toxic masculinity. 

Spencer had been staring at his notes for some time when it finally struck him. "I got it!" he yelled. "Guys! Guys! I got it!" The team seemed to understand and came immediately to the genius's side. "The Un-Sub isn't targeting race or gender, he's targeting sexuality. You see all of these victims have had one or more sexual partner of the same sex, now I had Garcia look up doctors, but of course we had no leads, so I advanced the search, and I found a therapist, a Fredrick Thimkin. " Spencer smiled, but out of the window that he could barley see from behind Rossi's head, he could see Goldoni rolling his eyes and smirking to a couple of his friends. 

"Good job Reid. Rossi, Emily, I want you to talk to this Thimkin." He said, looking around. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They had brought Thimkin in for questioning, nothing not run of the mill, but nothing that didn't scream that they thought he might have murdered four people either. He was a tall, broad man, who had birth control glasses, but didn't seem like he had the strength or the capacity to kill four people, but then again, looks can be deceiving.

"So, Dr. Fedrick Thimkin, Laura Reynolds, Jaron Brixton, Luciana Hernan and Jaxon Daniels were all patients of yours." 

"Yes, but under HIPPA, I cannot discuss anything about their treatment with you. " 

"You knew them well you would say?" Emily asked, leading up to what she wanted. 

"Well, as much as a doctor can know a patient. The system is all about being open and truthful," The man shrugged, "and who knows if they really were." 

"Did you know that your patients may or may not have been having homosexual relations?" Emily pried. 

"No I wouldn't," The man looked confused, generally confused. "That would not have been a topic of our discussions. I am a therapist that works on mood disorders. I don't like to pry into my patients lives like that. Why is that important?" 

"No Dr. Thimkin." Emily said sighing, standing and exiting the room. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A note was delivered to the precinct around noon by a young boy, he was around 5, and when asked who gave him the note, all he could say was a man about the same height as Derek which did not rule out much. The note was addressed to Dr. Reid, in spiraling handwriting, beautiful actually, if it hadn't been hand delivered by a child and given to a FBI agent. 

Dr. Reid, 

I hope this note has found you well. You have been so, so close to finding me really. It's almost pathetic. I hear you are a genius, but still can't catch little old me. I'll give you a hint, if you want it, tonight 9 o'clock, the firsts dumping sight. Bring the team along if you don't trust me, though I won't be there, you'll find another messenger. 

My love

A sudden wave of nausea sent through him as he shoved the note into Derek's hands and rushed to the restroom. Ah, yes, he hated Florida. This really was the worst state for crimes. Why couldn't he have any normal fans? He emptied his stomach into the porcelain bowl as he heard the door swing open. 

"Babe? You okay?" Derek's foot steps found there way to the stall's door. "Please unlock the door. At least let me hold back your hair." 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8:57 PM

The nausea swept over him again, but this time he swallowed it down. He had to be strong, not only for his team, but for Derek. Derek had read the note and wanted to rip it up, of course not being able to because of evidence. 

They all wore their vests inside, they didn't want to be surprised if there was an ambush, guns at the ready, yet all they found was a note. Reid went in first, since the note was addressed to him he opened it carefully, as if the letter was booby trapped. His lithe fingers working through the parchment. The team stood around him in a circle, there was no sign of anyone else in the building, but they couldn't be positive, and with Reid being distracted with the letter, they couldn't take chances. 

Dr. Reid, 

I see that you took my heed and came and found my little hint for you. Oh, my lovely, I can't wait to see the look on your face when I give you your surprise. Let me just give you your hint, payback is a bitch. 

My love

It happened too fast. Truth be told, it was way too fast, so fast that people couldn't comprehend what was happening before it was too late, and couldn't react. The sound whizzed through the air, buzzing with such intensity, that it seemed like the world stopped or at least slowed down even just for a moment, then again, when the world does that it needs to speed up again to regain time, so what happened next didn't surprise anyone. It was silent, eerily, until it hit flesh, caving into the cavity between the shoulder and neck, exposed from the vest.

Just as the note fell from Spencer's hand, Derek, clutching his neck, went down on his knees. Hotch was frantic, searching the wooding scalpers for anybody, but he couldn't find anything besides an open window. JJ was on call with 911, crying at the sight of Derek. Spencer managed to crawl over to him, hold him close, wrapping his hand around the wound as he saw Derek's eyes roll into his head. 

"Stay with me baby. Stay with me. No, no. Stay with me. I love you."

"ove you" Derek murmured, losing consciousness. Spencer began to shake him, crying. He tried anything to keep him away. EMS had to pull Spencer off of Derek when the arrived, but had allowed him to ride in with them. 

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The waiting was the worst part. It was something about how the chair were too hard, or how the light were too bright, which really need to be addressed by the way, or how the hospital smells, or how loud it is, or how quite the waiting room is for news. How the vending machine only takes ones and your fucked if you have fives like JJ. Pacing made you look like a lunatic, but no one questioned if you were Spencer Reid, because the only other option was curling up in a bawl and rocking and this was much preferred. 

"It didn't hit an artery or vein. He probably just broke his collar bone. He'll be fine. He's tough. He's Derek fucking Morgan," Spencer kept repeating to himself, pacing and mumbling under his breathing. His hands in his hair, shaking. 

Garcia had flown in, to get the information, and as she watched her boy wonder fall apart she couldn't help it any longer. "Are you guys just going to sit there and watch him?" She asked, looking confused as the boy talked to himself. He looked almost like his mother. 

"Garcia, I wouldn't-" Emily persisted to deaf ears as her high heels clicked over to the man. He wrapped himself tighter and tighter in his cardigan, making himself smaller. She reached her handout and he stopped. 

"Hey buddy," she whispered, in her best mothering voice. He looked up from the floor that he had been staring at and met her eyes, they were glossed over and red with tears, he looked so gone, unlike the genius that she knew. "Have you ate?" 

He shook his head fast, and then shook off her touch. "I don't want to," He whined. Garcia smiled, she always forgot that the boy was Autistic, he hid it so well, expect when Derek got hurt, he couldn't put up the façade any longer. 

"You need something to eat, trust me. Have you tried the vending machine down the hall? It has jello." 

"Jello?" The boy looked up again with child like wonder. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The room was bright when the were finally allowed in at one, surgery had went fine, and they said he would recover, but he hadn't woken up yet and they expected him to sometime in the night but couldn't confirm when. It was unanimous when asked if anyone wanted to stay that Spencer was the one to, he was Derek's right hand man anyway. 

He stayed, holding his hand and pulling out a book from his satchel, taking his shoes off and laying on the bed next to the sleeping man. He laid Morgan's head on his chest like they had done so many times before, and he began to read like they did when he would stay the night. 

"I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I would like to think you can." Spencer smiled, leaning down to kiss Derek's forehead. 

"I, Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus This-that-and-the-other (for I shall not trouble you yet with all my titles) who was once, and not so long ago either, known to my friends and relatives and associates as "Claudius the Idiot," or "That Claudius," or "Claudius the Stammerer," or "Clau-Clau-Claudius" or at best as "Poor Uncle Claudius," am now about to write this strange history of my life; starting from my earliest childhood and continuing year by year until I reach the fateful point of change where, some eight years ago, at the age of fifty-one, I suddenly found myself caught in what I may call the "golden predicament" from which I have never since become disentangled." He began to read from Robert Graves, I, Claudius. Hoping that maybe the words would work their magic, just this once, and open Derek's eyes back up for him. 

" B.. Babe," Morgan coughed about an hour and a half into reading, which by any means, meant that Spencer had reread the book several times by now, but he didn't care as long as Morgan was with him. 

"Yes darling? " 

"I love you." 

"I love you too." Spencer said squeezing him tighter and kissing his forehead.


End file.
